French giants struggle in Ligue 1 openers

This weekend saw the start of the French season and it produced some surprising results, with both PSG and Monaco failing to register wins. PSG were held 2-2 away to Stade de Reims, while Monaco were sunk 2-1 at home to Lorient.

Champions strugglePSG failed to get their campaign off to a winning start as they drew 2-2 at Reims. Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the scoring in the 7th minute, before missing both a penalty and then an open net, allowing Prince Oniangue equalised from close range.

Antoine Devaux then put Reims in front before half time, but Ibrahimovic atoned for his earlier misses by equalising in the 67th minute.

PSG pushed for the winner but were unable to make the breakthrough. The result means that PSG have now failed to win an opening game of the season for the past four years.

Despite missing a number of key players and new signings, this is a game that PSG should have won easily, and they will be hoping they will be able to rediscover their best form in order to defend their title.

The return of FalcaoRadamel Falcao made his long anticipated return from injury as he came off the bench in Monaco’s 2-1 home defeat to Lorient.

He managed to get on the score sheet, after he converted a penalty in the 78th minute, awarded for a foul on former Manchester United forward, Dimitar Berbatov, in the box.

Despite equalising, it proved to be an unhappy day for Monaco fans. Leonardo Jardim’s men were punished for a Ricardo Carvalho red card and Lorient broke away to seal the win in the 87th minute. The result will be a disappointment as Monaco missed the opportunity to open up a gap at the top and set down an early marker for their Parisian rivals.

Elsewhere in FranceThe opening day also produced draws for Marseille and Lille as they were held by Bastia and Menz respectively. Lyon won 2-0 against Rennes while Bordeaux, St Étienne, Caen, Nice and Nantes all registered wins.

Predictably, the Ligue 1 season will no doubt descend into a two team tussle for the title, but as the opening day has shown, there could be a few shocks along the way.